Saskatchewan dominated the individual awards ceremony held at
the St. Clair Centre for the Arts.

Guard Katie Miyazaki of Richmond, B.C., was named the CIS
defensive player of the year for the second straight season. Team
captain Jill Humbert of Saskatoon received the Sylvia Sweeney
Award, recognizing excellence in basketball, academics and
community involvement. Lisa Thomaidis claimed the Peter Ennis Award
as coach of the year for the second time in three campaigns.

Also honoured during the All-Canadian Banquet were UNB guard
Claire Colborne of Calgary, who captured the Kathy Shields Award as
rookie of the year, as well as Memorial's Brittany Dalton of
Harbour Main, Nfld., who received the Tracy MacLeod Award
recognizing determination and perseverance.

The CIS Final 8 gets underway Friday with the quarter-final
round and culminates on Sunday with the gold medal final, live on
TSN at 4:30 p.m. SSN Canada will have live webcasts of all games
except the title match, while TVCogeco will televise six contests
locally, including the first three quarter-finals, both semis and
the bronze medal match.

NAN COPP AWARD
(player of the year): Jessica Clemençon,
Windsor

Clemençon is the third player in CIS women's basketball
history to win both the Katie Shields and Nan Copp Awards, as
rookie and player of the year, respectively, but is the first to
accomplish the feat in back-to-back seasons. Calgary's Leighann
Doan claimed the Shields trophy in 1997 and followed with a pair of
Copp awards in 2000 and 2001, while McGill's Vicky Tessier was
honoured in 1993 and 1997.

The 6-foot-3 arts & English major finished the regular
season among conference and national leaders in almost every
statistical category. She scored an OUA-leading 19.0 points per
game, which ranked third in the nation. Clemençon also
averaged 8.2 rebounds (13th in the CIS), as well as 2.0 blocks,
which was second among CIS leaders. She was the top free-throw
shooter in the OUA and fourth in the nation at 85.6 per cent, while
her success rate on field goals (55.1%) ranked fifth across the
country.

After kicking off the campaign with back-to-back all-tournament
selections at the Hoopfest Invitational in Edmonton and the Don
Grant Memorial tourney in Fredericton – both won by the
Lancers – Clemençon led Windsor to their first-ever
No. 1 ranking last fall, then proceeded to guide the team to first
place overall in the OUA standings with a sparkling 20-2 record,
followed by a third straight league championship, and to the No. 1
seeding heading into the CIS Final 8.

"Jessica came into the season in superb condition and really
took her game to a new level. She is our most talented player and
her statistics speak for themselves," said Windsor head coach
Chantal Vallée. "She has consistently been our best player
in our biggest games and she always seems to come up with the big
play when we need it. I challenged her to be a better all-around
athlete this year and taking that challenge seriously, she excelled
in every aspect."

UNB post Amanda Sharpe of Fredericton, McGill forward Anneth
Him-Lazarenko of Laval, Que., and Saskatchewan guard Kim Tulloch of
Regina were the other nominees for the Nan Copp Award.

DEFENSIVE MVP:
Katie Miyazaki, Saskatchewan

Miyazaki, who was named CIS defensive player of the year as a
member of the Simon Fraser Clan a year ago, was allowed to transfer
and play with Saskatchewan this season when SFU joined the NCAA.
The only previous multiple winner, Rachel Hart, also claimed the
award in back-to-back seasons with different teams, first with
Manitoba in 2007 and then with McMaster in 2008.

A health sciences senior, she made an immediate impact with the
Huskies, who held their opponents to 59.5 points per game in
conference play, third best in Canada West. A two-time national
champion with SFU, she set a team record in her first campaign in
Saskatoon with 87 steals and led the country with an average of
3.63 steals per game. Also a threat under the basket, the 5-foot-9
veteran guard finished eighth among Canada West leaders in
offensive (2.3), defensive (4.5) and total rebounds (6.8) per
outing.

Miyazaki, who also chipped in offensively with 13 points a game,
helped the Huskies finish first in Canada West with a 22-2 record
and capture the second CWUAA banner in team history.

"Katie's athleticism and versatility enable her to routinely
guard any position from one through five," said head coach Lisa
Thomaidis. "She is tough, fearless and has an exceptional ability
to anticipate the play. Her on-ball defence and ability to come up
with steals, rebounds and loose balls, at the most critical of
times, have had a tremendous impact on our success this
season."

St. Francis Xavier guard Ashley Stephen of Toronto, Concordia
guard Kaylah Barrett of Brampton, Ont., and Western Ontario forward
Matteke Hutzler of Napanee, Ont., were also in the running for
defensive-MVP honours.

KATHY SHIELDS
AWARD (rookie of the year): Claire Colborne,
UNB

Colborne, the first UNB player in history to be named CIS rookie
of the year, was nothing short of phenomenal in her university
debut.

The 18-year-old joined the Varsity Reds out of St. Mary's high
school in Calgary and started all 20 conference games, averaging
18.6 points per game for No. 10-ranked UNB, which ranked fourth in
the Atlantic, fifth in the country, and first amongst CIS freshmen.
The six-foot guard also finished second in the AUS and fifth in the
nation in three-point shooting (45.5), and was the V-Reds' best
free-throw shooter with a 74.8 per cent success rate. Colborne
netted 20 or more points 11 times – including a season-high
of 29 points in her second contest – to help UNB to a 14-6
record and second place in the AUS standings.

"Claire had an immediate impact on our team, was a scoring
threat from our very first game and has continued that trend," said
UNB head coach Jeff Speedy. "She led all CIS rookies in scoring by
a wide margin and to be ranked fifth overall in CIS scoring as a
freshman is truly a great accomplishment."

A trio of guards including Concordia's Kaylah Barrett, Toronto's
Jill Stratton of Etobicoke, Ont., and Winnipeg's Stephanie Kleysen
of Winnipeg were the other finalists for the Kathy Shields
Award.

In her 13th season at the helm in Saskatoon, Thomaidis received
the Peter Ennis Award for the second time, becoming the seventh
multiple recipient of the trophy. She has been a four-time
conference coach-of-the-year honoree by her Canada West peers.

This season, she led the Huskies to a school-best 22-2
conference mark including 20 straight wins to close out the regular
season, and 27 consecutive victories overall, heading into the CIS
Final 8. It is the longest win streak in team history and the best
in the country this season. The Huskies spent the entire campaign
in the national Top 10 including the last eight weeks at No. 1.
After finishing first in the conference standings, they made the
playoffs for the eighth straight season and claimed the Canada West
title to advance to the Final 8 for the fifth time in six
years.

Thomaidis, who was named a YWCA Woman of Distinction in 2009,
has been an assistant coach with the Canadian national team since
2001 and has coached at the 2006 world championship, two PanAm
Games and three Olympic qualification tournaments.

"Lisa is a wonderful example of the type of coach we have here
at the University of Saskatchewan," said director of athletics
Basil Hughton. "She provides a great student-athlete experience for
her players by ensuring their attention to the classroom and the
court. She is hardworking, a dedicated leader and is truly
committed to Huskie Athletics. The success of our women's
basketball program is a credit to her. Lisa is well-deserving of
this award."

Humbert becomes the second Saskatchewan player to be recognized
for excellence in athletics, academics and community involvement,
joining current Huskies assistant coach Jacqueline Lavallée
(2002).

On the court, the fifth-year guard and team captain was named a
Canada West all-star after she led the conference and finished
second in the country in assists (4.71 per game), while placing
sixth in league scoring with 15.4 points per game.

A three-time Academic All-Canadian in her first four years at
the U of S, the kinesiology and education student has always made
time for others and worthwhile causes.

Humbert has worked with the University's PAAL program, where she
swam with disabled children. She has organized and delivered a
Christmas hamper for the past two years for the "Adopt A Family"
initiative through the Huskie Athletics Council. She has also given
back to the sport as a volunteer coach at the White Buffalo Youth
Lodge for inner-city youth, with Junior Huskie teams and Saskatoon
minor basketball teams, in addition to helping put on various
player clinics at high schools and elementary schools across
Saskatoon.

"Jill is just an outstanding individual in every way," said
Thomaidis. "As a coach, she is everything you would want in a
student-athlete. She's a positive role model and citizen that gives
back to the community, she is a conscientious, high-achieving
student and a fearless competitor on the court. Jill has been an
excellent ambassador for Huskie Athletics and demonstrates all that
this award represents."

UNB's Amanda Sharpe, a kinesiology student, Laval forward
Marie-Michelle Genois, a masters student in cellular and molecular
biology from Cap-Santé, Que., and Laurentian guard Katie
Goggins, a kinesiology major from Hanmer, Ont., were the other
finalists for the Sylvia Sweeney Award.

TRACY MacLEOD
AWARD: Brittany Dalton, Memorial

Dalton is the first Memorial winner of the Tracy MacLeod Award
since its inception in 1997.

As a freshman in 2007, the 5-foot-9 guard tore her ACL and
missed the next season and a half, including the CIS championship
hosted by Memorial in St. John's in the winter of 2007.

After a significant amount of rehabilitation and hard work, she
was able to return to university basketball and compete at a high
level. This season however, in a game just prior to the holiday
break, Dalton tore the same ACL once again. Determined not to miss
the 2011 AUS championship on her home court, the business senior
once again committed herself to an aggressive rehabilitation
program, and wearing a brace, returned to action in time for the
playoffs.

"Brittany has been playing major minutes at the point-guard
position, was our third-leading scorer, second leading rebounder
and best defender, all on one good knee," said Memorial head coach
Doug Partridge. "Her fire and competitive spirit set the tone for
our team and her determination to play has been a key in our rise
to a competitive level this year."

Bishop's Jessy Roy of Val d'Or, Que., Ottawa's Sarah Nolette of
Edmonton and Alberta's Nicole Clarke of Calgary, all guards, were
the other nominees for the Tracy MacLeod Award.

ALL-CANADIAN
TEAMS

The all-Canadian teams were also announced on Thursday.

Joining Clemençon on the first squad were conference MVPs
Sharpe (AUS), Him-Lazarenko (RSEQ) and Tulloch (Canada West), as
well as Saint Mary's guard Justine Colley of East Preston, N.S.

All are first-time all-Canadians with the exception of Tulloch,
who was a first-team member two years ago.

Colley led the nation with a spectacular 25.8 points per game
average this season, more than six points per outing better than
runner-up Sharpe (19.7 ppg). Tulloch (16.9) and Him-Lazarenko
(15.6) were the top scorers in Canada West and Quebec,
respectively.